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Tenzing Norbu crouched behind a barrier of shattered granite boulders at four thousand three hundred meters , shielding his face from the grit blown across the ridge by the Himalayan gale . His breath condensed into crystals on the wool of his scarf . After a four - hour ascent through thinning air , he had finally reached station seven , an infrared camera trap bolted to a limestone fissure overlooking an ibex trail . Yet as he knelt in the scree , the diagnostic diode on the waterproof housing failed to illuminate . With a severe blizzard forecasted to close the valley pass by nightfall , a dead sensor meant losing six months of winter migration data . The extreme cold often mimics permanent hardware failure . Sub - zero temperatures drastically reduce lithium - ion voltage , causing battery cells to drop below the operational threshold required by the shutter mechanism . Tenzing unlatched the frosted metal clasp , extracted the frozen battery pack , and slid a warmed replacement from the interior lining of his down jacket . The instant the terminals engaged , the amber ready light pulsed twice , confirming that the internal memory had remained intact despite forty nights of sub - zero exposure . Before unmounting the memory card , Tenzing examined the dusted dusting of fresh powder along the rocky ledge . Pressed into the crust were fresh pugmarks , the characteristic rounded footprints of a large feline , lacking claw marks because cats retract their weapons during quiet locomotion . The stride was deliberate and wide , suggesting an unhurried patrol rather than a hunting dash . The tracks crossed directly within the four - meter focal arc of the camera lens , precisely where the trail narrowed between two sheer cliffs . Tenzing slid the miniature card into his field viewer , hunching over the LCD screen to block the blinding mountain glare . The first dozen files showed only empty rock faces and tufts of dry fescue grass set vibrating by the gale . Then , at sequence frame one hundred and eighty , recorded under the blue twilight of yesterday evening , the image sharpened : a mature snow leopard stepped out from behind the boulder , its smoky rosettes distinct against the stone , its heavy tail raised to counterbalance a leap across the ravine . The animal's gaze was fixed squarely on the passive sensor . The camera had done its duty , and with the first heavy flakes of the blizzard beginning to swirl around his boots , Tenzing packed the unit and began his descent .
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